What’s on TV? More than you can watch without TiVoArtsFriday provides a glimpse of the season debuts offered this week, page 4

Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Abilene Christian University Serving the ACU community since 1912

September 28, 2007

FRIDAY

Vol. 96, No. 10

1 section, 8 pageswww.acuoptimist.com

THE

Chili charityChili’s is raising money Monday to benefit St. Jude’s Hospital as part of national Chili’s effort, Page 3

Catching the Greyhound Eastern New Mexico prances to ACU with nation’s best running game, page 8

OPTIMIST

By Jared FieldsEditor-in-ChiEf

ACU continues taking steps to-ward bringing Apple technology to campus sooner than first imag-ined. After the Sep. 5 release of the iPod touch, the university ex-panded the number of researchers from the originally planned 7-10 to almost 40.

“Two days during the time we were making our call for proposals, the iPod touch was introduced,” said Bill Rankin, associate profes-sor of English.

The iPod touch allows the univer-sity to bring more people into the research because of the similarities between it and the iPhone. Rankin said other than no phone capabili-

ties, camera and a few other mi-nor differences, the two products are similar enough to research the same things.

Also, the iPod touch’s price makes research more affordable when compared to the monthly phone plan the iPhone requires.

“What’s most import is it gives us an opportunity to study the iPhone Web browser without hav-ing the cost of the iPhone,” George Saltsman, director of Educational Technology in the Adams Cen-ter for Teaching Excellence, said. “Wherever we would want to re-search how the iPhone uses the In-ternet, we can use the iPod [touch] to do the same.”

The researchers will be placed in seven groups researching different

aspects of the iPhone’s use. “Rather than just … maybe one

person working on a particular area, we have 4-5 people working on a particular area,” Rankin said. “It lets us prototype our studies with a devise that’s, granted, less capable, but more affordable and easier to get into more people’s hands.”

The 16-gig cost about the same as the 8-gig iPhone, and researchers have the choice to pick which devise they want to use in their research.

While no plan currently exists for the monthly iPhone bill, Rankin said the iPod touch helps with some worries about how it could be handled.

“To date, AT&T hasn’t created a corporate plan,” Rankin said. “We have to buy it as though we’re an

individual. Right now, there’s no way to have a bunch of iPhones on campus. The iPod touch let’s us not have to deal with that plan.”

For the 40, applications came due Thursday to accept their role in one of the seven research groups. Final word comes Friday for the applicants.

Like painting a house, having more people allows quicker progress.

“Before, we imagined a multi-step function,” Rankin said. “I feel that puts us in a great posi-tion to figure this out. … and lead us more quickly to the decisions we’ll make.”

The seven research groups begin with the executive study group. This

iPhone research groups aided by touch

By Denton JoseyfEaturEs Editor

Fewer people went through Bid Night this year than last. The num-ber of pledges dropped for men’s and women’s clubs.

Last year, 235 women and 142 men reported final rankings for clubs, but this year only 223 wom-en and 108 men ranked clubs to pledge.

Mauri Westbrook, coordinator of student organizations and activities, said numbers have been decreasing for the last several years.

Pledging numbers sink from ’06

By Laura AcuffstudEnt rEportEr

Abilene residents, among them some ACU professors, discussed criminal justice and cancer reform at a forum on Tuesday conducted by District 71 State Representa-tive Susan King. District 71 includes the university.

“The main point is to be proactive,” King said. “We believe in open transpar-ency and direct discussion and discourse.”

The forum, at the T & P Depot on 1101 N. First St.,

lasted only an hour because of King’s desire to make it as convenient as possible for attendees. King arranged chairs in a circle and sat among the citizens, who numbered between ten and 15 and claimed a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities.

Following introductions around the circle, King imme-diately opened the forum to questions and discussion, al-lowing citizens to both inquire about and comment on what-ever issues they preferred.

“I’m not for censoring or trying to orchestrate com-

munications,” King said. “It’s kind of a risk to do this be-cause I don’t have any idea who will show up. I don’t know what they’ll ask me, but I believe that’s a genuine way to involve people. That’s just kind of my style.”

Discussion covered a va-riety of topics, including the Texas Forest Service, instal-lation of tollbooths on Texas highways and incarceration of the mentally handicapped.

“There is such a focus now on criminal justice reform,” King said. “Quite frankly, we don’t have the workers, we

don’t have the prison beds and we need to not be locking [people] up when they don’t need to be.”

Regardless of which issue was being discussed, much of the conversation revolved around finances and funding.

“Unfortunately, everything begins and ends with money,” King said. “That’s the prob-lem. That’s the process. You can have [the money] there. You can have it appropriated, and then the governor can veto it.”

Although most topics in-volved statewide concerns,

King still related issues to the community of Abilene.

“One of the biggest [is-sues] people are talking about in Abilene, and all over the state, has to do with bonds for cancer research,” King said. “Texas is poised to become a really, really strong force there. Lance Armstrong and others are really push-ing it hard. The controversy there is people say, ‘Why can-cer? Why not diabetes? Why not Parkinson’s? Why not Alzheimer’s? Why not AIDS?’ That’s a legitimate ques-tion, [but] cancer becomes a

disease that is opportunis-tic within other diseases, so when your immune system is down, for example, with AIDS, there are specific can-cers that are opportunistic diseases with AIDS.”

Elected last spring, King serves on the Human Ser-vices, Rules and Resolutions, and Public Health Commit-tees but was quick to assert that she is not a medical ex-pert. King assured forum at-tendees that questions she

Forum gives Rep. King chance to converse with constituents

By Val ValleonlinE Editor

Juniors and seniors who want to host Sing Song 2008 attended an in-terest meeting on Tuesday in Cullen Auditorium.

About 50 students attended the meeting to receive information packets instructing prospects on what to do before their audition. Closed auditions will begin Mon-day, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m. The deadline to sign up for an audition time is Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Sing Song 2008 will mark its 52nd show Feb. 14-16. Traditionally, Sing Song features three hosts and three hostesses, and the participation of students performing in club and class numbers is one of the largest

Sing Song hosts tryouts approaching

By Kelsi PeaceManaging Editor

The Students’ Association Congress divided over the rule requiring representa-tives to major in the build-ing they represent, with some supporting adherence to the rules and others seeking to fill empty seats, at Wednes-day’s meeting.

Congress debated the is-

sue for more than an hour in a meeting with no new busi-ness on the agenda.

UP Rep. Caleb Archer, ju-nior political science major from Southlake, moved to appoint Hallie Roberts, se-nior political science major from Fort Sumner, N.M., to the Zona Luce representative position, raising questions of whether students can rep-resent a building as a minor

and calling into question how rigorous Congress should be in examining qualifications.

While no one argued against Roberts’ ability to compe-tently fill the role, some said it was inappropriate to let a student who spends little time in a building act as the representative. Others said filling empty seats is more important than focusing on procedure.

“We have rules for a rea-son,” said UP Rep. Casey Bing-ham, senior political science major from Conroe, an oppo-nent of appointing Roberts to represent Zona Luce.

More than anything, some Congress members worried they could be setting a prec-edent of relaxing the rules. SA executive President Matt

SA debates representative rules

katie gager CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

SA vice president Daniel Paul Watkins, junior political science major from Fredericksberg, Va.; SA president Matt Worthington, senior missions major from San Antonio; and Matt Greenberg, senior political science major from Grand Prairie, conduct the SA meeting Wednesday in Hart Auditorium.

katie gager CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Large Chorus performs “Good Morning ACU,” a spin-off of “Good Morning Baltimore,” from Hairspray in Cullen Auditorium Thursday. Freshman Follies begins Friday.

Fresh Follies

See HOSTS page 5

See NUMBERS page 5

See SA page 5

See RESEARCH page 5

See KING page 5

8 a.m.The WCTCC’s first Virtual Job Fair will be held until Oct. 8. Visit www.collegecentral.com/wctcc to view available part-time, internship and full-time positions. Use this opportunity to network with employers locally and around the country who are interested in hiring ACU students and alumni.

8 p.m.Boston-based band Junius will play its sixth show in Abilene at Monks Coffee shop on Cypress Street.

Parents Weekend

5 p.m.Free Guitar Hero II will be offered in the Campus Center Living Room until 9 p.m. A prize will be given for the top score.

8 p.m.Freshman Follies will be performed by freshman students in Cullen Auditorium.

Parents Weekend

8:30 a.m.Issues Facing Women in the Medical Professions, a sym-posium for women in pre-health, will take place until noon in the Campus Center Living Room.

1, 3 and 7 p.m.Freshman Follies will be performed by freshman students in Cullen Auditorium.

10 p.m.Socrates Cafe will meet in the Lion’s Den to discuss love, truth and happiness.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Calendar Events&

The Optimist maintains this calendar for the ACU community to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities.

Groups may send announcements directly to optimist@acu.edu or to the Page 2 Editor at mxe06a@acu.edu.

To ensure that an item will appear on time, the announcement should be sent at least 10 days before. The Optimist may edit items for space and style.

Corrections and clarifications of published news articles will be printed in this space in a timely manner.

About This Page

Friday, September 28, 2007

Announcements

01 Monday28 Friday 29 Saturday 02 Tuesday

Nominate senior women for homecoming queen by Friday at www.acu.edu/queen.

Tickets for Freshman Follies will be on sale for $10 until Friday in the Campus Center from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. All shows are general admission and will be performed in Cullen Audi-torium Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 1, 3 and 7 p.m.

Sing Song 2008 host and hostess auditions will take place Oct. 8 and Oct. 9. Any student who is interested but was unable to attend the interest meeting Tuesday should e-mail sing-song@acu.edu as soon as possible.

The Medical Clinic will host a flu vaccination clinic Oct. 15 and Nov. 1 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Campus Center Living Room. The shot costs $25, and it can be charged to a stu-dent account or paid in cash or check. The Medical Clinic also takes flu shot patients daily on a walk-in basis. For more information, contact Kathy Stokes at (325) 674-2625.

CreditedChapelsto date:

CreditedChapelsremaining:

Chapel Checkup2145

Volunteer OpportunitiesBig Country Balloon Fest

needs volunteers Friday and Saturday to help at the annual hot air balloon festival at Red-bud Park. Shifts are available from 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Key City Kiwanis needs volun-teers for its annual Fish Fry at the Abilene Civic Center on Oct. 6 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Help is needed to serve food, clean tables and serve drinks. All proceeds are distributed to needy children and adults.

Volunteers are needed for the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk on Oct. 6 from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. at Nelson Park to help with set up, banners and keeping drinks stocked for participants.

The Abilene elementary schools need volunteers to read with kids on a weekly basis. Time slots are available for a va-riety of days. For more informa-tion, go to the Volunteer Center located in the Bean Sprout.

Connecting Caring Com-munities is seeking volunteers to

conduct interviews with five as-signed Abilene residents during the next two-three weeks, follow-ing a two-hour training session, while the Community Assess-ment of Resiliency Tool (CART©) is implemented throughout Abilene to assess resiliency fac-tors that indicate sustainable and healthy communities. Students choosing to participate in this need can obtain five Chapel credits if they do not already have a Faith in Action exemp-tion. For more information or to participate, go to the Volunteer Service-Learning Center in the Campus Center. Upcoming vol-unteer training sessions will be held Friday at 8:30-10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and 4-6 p.m. in the board room on the third floor of the American State Bank, located at 402 Cypress, and Saturday at 9:30-11:30 a.m. and noon-2 p.m. in the Connally Missions Center at Hardin Simmons University.

By Katie HowertonStudent RepoRteR

The Body and Soul Pro-gram will hold its first an-nual symposium for women in pre-health this Saturday at 8:30 a.m. in the Campus Living Room. The program’s main theme is Issues Fac-ing Women in the Medical Profession, and it will host three women who are at dif-ferent stages of life.

“It inspires our female students to hear from people who have already gone down this path and for them to see OK, this might be doable,” said Terri Aldriedge, head of the Body and Soul Program.

This event is open to all but is directed mostly to-wards women in pre-health.

“There are a lot of stu-dents, females that come in my office and say, ‘I want to be a wife and a mom and how workable is this,’” Aldriedge said.

Expecting between 50-60 girls in attendance, the morn-ing will begin with a breakfast followed by an opportunity for three women to speak about the medical field. The women will include Dr. Kristie Clark, director of Pediatrics at Yoakum County Hospital in Denver City; ACU alumnus Dr. Tammy Camp, teaching

staff at Texas Tech Medical School in Lubbock; and ACU alumnus Dr. Kimberly McMil-lin, family medicine specialist from Garland. The last event will include an open-forum time where women will have an opportunity to ask ques-tions and participate in group discussions.

The Body and Soul pro-gram is a specialized pro-gram for students who are serious about medicine or dentistry.

“It gives them exposure; they get to shadow doctors and dentists. They get to ob-serve surgery; they get to do things to see if this is what they really are supposed to do,” Aldriedge said.

The program has been running for almost two and a half years now, with num-bers increasing every year. It is for any pre-health stu-dent who has acquired a 3.5 grade point average after their first semester here.

“It has been incredible how it has all come togeth-er,” Aldriedge said. “I’m just hoping that with the infor-mation we give them, they can come up with the best path for them.”

Students inspired by Symposium

E-mail Howerton at: optimist@acu.edu

By Kimberly PratherStudent RepoRteR

A prayer walk will be held Saturday on the Lunsford Trail during Parents Weekend.

This walk will start at 9 a.m. at Jacobs Dream. Dr. Jean-Noel Thompson, the vice president and dean for Student Life, will be the host. The format will be similar to the one held during Welcome Week.

The hope is that prayer walks will become more fre-quent throughout the year. The first one was a chance to be in prayer for students starting school.

The first prayer walk was planned in June by Samantha Adkins, coordinator of Alum-ni Programs, Dr. Eric Gumm, director of Orientation, Phyl-lis Bolin, assistant professor of mathematics, and Mark Lewis, director of Spiritual Life and Student Ministries.

The idea of the prayer walks came about because of a small group of parents wanting to pray for their stu-dents going off to college or for their students already at-tending college.

“The prayer walk pre-pared parents with a prayer foundation for the beginning of the year,” Gumm said.

“Prayer walks are a tangible way for people to contrib-ute to the mission of the University by lifting us help to the Lord.”

Around 60 people turned out at the prayer walk held during Welcome Week, and the plan-ning team hopes to see higher attendance in the future.

“There was less opportuni-ty to do publicity for the first prayer walk; we are looking for a better turn out this time around,” Gumm said.

The walk started at Ja-cob’s Dream, where fifteen minutes was spent prepar-ing for the walk. From there, attendees were free to walk the trail or to pray how they saw fit. The walk consisted of an informal structure. A prayer guidebook was pro-vided that listed the dif-ferent scriptures located around the Lunsford Trail.

“The prayer walks are an invitation to be in a prayerful community,” Gumm said.

These walks are open to ev-eryone as a way to be involved

with the ACU community. “Although the prayer

walks are not exclusively set aside for parents, the idea is to provide parents and the whole ACU community and opportunity to get involved together on behalf of the University,” Lewis said.

A future prayer walk is set to be held Oct. 20 during Homecoming at 8 a.m. at the cross next to Sewell Theatre.

Trail to host prayer walks

E-mail Prather at: optimist@acu.edu

“The prayer walks are an invitation to be in a prayerful community.”

Dr. Eric Gumm, director of Orientation

Friday, September 28, 2007 Page 3CAMPUS NEWS

By Mallory EdensPage 2 editor

Every Chili’s across the nation donated 100 percent of its profits collected Mon-day to St. Jude Children’s Re-search Hospital.

The effort was part of an an-nual campaign called “Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer,” which is held every September for National Child-hood Cancer Awareness Month. In addition to the event Monday, Chili’s visitors can help chil-dren fighting cancer by going to a local Chili’s and making a donation to decorate a coloring sheet of the restaurants’ signa-

ture pepper logo. Each donated sheet is then displayed in the restaurant throughout Septem-ber. The Chili’s north Abilene location also held a chili pep-pers car wash to raise money for St. Jude.

Chili’s campaign goal is to raise more than $5 million this year. Each restaurant got to individually select its own target goal. The Chili’s north Abilene location set its goal at $7,500. So far, it has raised $5,202.50 from the car wash and pepper decoration alone. Monday night, the restaurant collected $8,000.

Cole Smith, Chili’s north Abilene service manager,

said he thought the res-taurant brought in a good amount of business.

“I’ve worked here for 10 years, and this was one of the best campaigns we’ve had, especially being at a new res-taurant,” Smith said. “It made our business go up. [Sales are] normally about half of what [they were Monday]. A lot of people came in for just this reason.”

Since the campaign began, Chili’s raised more than $11 million for the patients of St. Jude Children’s Research Hos-pital. This hospital is the only pediatric cancer research cen-ter where families never pay

for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay for treatment. Eighty-five cents of every dollar donated to St. Jude goes to research and treatment.

Because of protocols for research and treatment devel-oped at St. Jude, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common form of childhood cancer, is now 94 percent compared to 4 percent in 1962. Overall, can-cer survival rates have risen from 20 percent to 70 percent. St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from more than 70 countries.

According to Smith, it takes $980,000 a day to run a hospi-tal. Smith said Chili’s goal every year is to donate enough money to run it for about 50 years.

Chili’s is also in the process of helping fund the construc-tion of the Chili’s Care Center, a six-story, 325,000 square foot building scheduled to open at St. Jude in November. The Center will be the first medi-cal building on the St. Jude campus to bear the name of a St. Jude corporate sponsor and will house the Department of Radiological Sciences, the Pedi-atric Brain Tumor Consortium, space for in-patient activities and new research laboratories.

Chili’s has set a goal to raise $50 million over the next 10 years. When this goal is reached, this will be the largest corporate donation in St. Jude’s more than 40-year history.

As for the next short-term campaign goal, the company hopes to earn $100,000.

“Hopefully, we will beat this year’s donation, especial-ly with the way it’s expand-ing out here,” Smith said. “My goal for this year was $7,500, but I thought we could raise $9,000. We should be able to pass that goal.”

Chili’s raises money for hospital’s charitable cause

By Aaron BallardStudent rePorter

There’s no debating this: the ACU speech and debate team placed first overall at the Uni-versity of Houston Invitational Sept. 15 and 16.

“It was exciting. Although it wasn’t an incredibly competi-tive tournament, it was a good place to get our feet wet,” said Brandon Smith, senior inter-national relations major from Kansas City, Mo., and captain of the team. “We were expecting to do well, but first place was a big deal because it showed the freshmen that we have what it takes to be competitive on the circuit.”

Of about 15 students who are a part of the speech and de-bate team, 12 competed in the tournament. Eighteen other universities were represented in the tournament, mostly from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. LSU placed second, and the University of Houston

placed third.“Winning first place was a

really big deal,” said Dr. Sally Gary, assistant professor of communication and director of forensics. “For every round of debate that you compete in, you get so many points, so winning first in sweepstakes means that we had more wins in debate than any other school.”

The team focuses on two dif-ferent styles of debate. First, the Lincoln-Douglas Debate is an individual, policy-based debate that requires a lot of research and preparation. This year, the topic is increasing humani-tarian aid to the greater horn of Africa and will be debated throughout the year. ACU placed first, second and third in this category at the Univer-sity of Houston Invitational.

The other style of debate the team focuses on is the Parliamentary Debate. This type of debate is done with a partner and is impromptu. The topic is announced 15

minutes prior to the start of the debate and can vary wide-ly. ACU placed first, third and fourth in this category.

“Parliamentary Debate is very challenging because you have to think quickly on your feet and still apply debate struc-ture,” Gary said. “No evidence is allowed, just the knowledge you have, and you go from there.”

The team travels and com-petes in tournaments four to five weekends a semester, and in the spring, the team com-petes in a week-long competi-tion. The next competition will take place at Central Missouri University on Oct. 5.

“As a group, we are very team focused,” Smith said. “We depend on each other a lot.”

An extensive amount of time spent in preparation and research is required. The team meets once a week to practice together on Tuesday after-noons. In addition, each mem-ber spends time researching on their own.

“You have to put in a constant amount of work and research to be ready for competition,” Smith said.

This is Smith’s fourth year on the ACU team and eighth year participating in speech and debate.

“I usually spend six to seven hours a week re-searching and preparing,” he said.

The team began in 1925 and has a rich history on the ACU campus.

“The speech and debate team has always been com-petitive,” Smith said. “It’s surprising how many prom-inent alumni and faculty have been a part of it.”

The team is funded en-tirely by an endowment called the Brown Endow-ment, named after former debate coach and communi-cation department chair Dr. Ed Brown and his wife Edna. It was founded in the 1990s with $1 million, and today,

many alumni contribute to it.Gary believes the skills

required for speech and de-bate are special and should be supported.

“These abilities are gifts

from God,” Gary said. “We want to encourage students with those gifts to use them to fur-ther God’s kingdom.”

Speech and debate team seizes first place in Houston

E-mail Edens at: mxe06a@acu.edu

E-mail Ballard at: optimist@acu.edu

By Sara SnelsonArts Editor

Summer is always full of dull TV shows, and I always miss the shows I watch during school. This week is the week I have been waiting for since April: season premiere week.

This is the time when I look forward to getting together with my friends, making dinner and watching my favorite shows. There are some new shows that are airing this season, and I am excited to watch and see if they are worthy of my time or not. “The Office” is by far my favorite show on TV because of the dry humor and ridicu-lous events that take place by the characters. I watched sea-son two of “The Office” (since season three was not released yet) about one hundred times this summer in anticipation of the fourth season premiere this week. I have highlighted the most watched TV shows on the ma-jor-network stations that are making their way back this week and next. Also listed are some new pilots that are out as well.

ABC Premieres

Grey’s AnatomyThursdays at 8c The crew from Seattle Grace Hospital are back as residents

and are no longer interns. Burke is nowhere to be found, George is repeating his intern year and Meredith and Derek’s relationship is on the rocks. This show always keeps me on the edge of my seat, and I am anxious to see what will hap-pen with all of the changes that were made last season.

Dancing with the StarsMondays at 7c / Results show Tuesdays at 8c This is the fifth season with the biggest cast yet; six men and six women will compete to become the next winners of “Dancing with the Stars.” Last season there was great dancing on the show, so I hope this sea-son can compete.

The BachelorMondays at 8:30c The 11th edition of this ro-mance reality series features Brad Womack of Austin. I think this show needs to come up with some new twists. Having 11 seasons of the same thing is too much.

Private Practice - NEWWednesdays at 8c This spin-off of “Grey’s Anatomy” features Addison Montgomery as she moves to Los Angeles to pursue better possibilities in her life. “Grey’s Anatomy” is really good, so I think this spin-off will be too.

Cavemen - NEWPremieres Oct. 2 at 7c This spin-off of the Geico commercials features three cavemen who have success-fully made the move to San Di-ego and are just trying to fit in

among society and acclimate into the homo sapien world. I am going to give this a try be-cause I like the commercials. Why wouldn’t I like the show?

Big Shots - NEWThursdays at 8c This is the story of four friends who are at the top of their game until the women in their lives enter the room. These competitive and dys-functional CEOs take refuge in their friendship, supporting one another through life’s un-expected events.

CBs Premieres

Survivor: ChinaThursdays at 8c The castaways are thrown and wrestled in one of the dirtiest and most physical challenges in survivor his-tory. Who will outwit, outplay and outlast all the rest this season? “Survivor” has been seen many times by millions of people, but I think the Chi-nese location will make this season better than the rest.

Numb3rsFridays at 10c In the fourth season, Don and his team work to track down agent Colby Granger af-ter the discovery that he was a mole within the FBI. This is good, but nothing I have not seen before.

Without a TraceThursdays at 10c The team searches for the adopted son of a celebrity couple who is kidnapped

from his home. This show sounds like any other typical mystery show of this day.

Kid Nation - NEWWednesdays at 8c This new reality series takes 40 kids and gives them all the responsibility to rebuild a town. Disorder in the town prompts certain kids to make decisions that don’t reside well with the rest of the kids. This show is stirring a lot of controversy over child labor and safety laws. I am interested in seeing it.

CSIThursdays at 9c In the eighth season, Sara’s fate remains in question as the “CSI” team rushes to find if she survived an attack by a minia-ture killer on the loose. How many shows are there? This will be just like the rest.

NBC Premieres

The OfficeThursdays at 8c The fourth season is here with the first four episodes being an hour long. Jim, Pam, Dwight and the rest of the employees from Dunder Mifflin are once again under the reign of Michael Scott, and who knows what mischief and dry humor will be in store for us this season. This is by far my favorite show, and I have been looking forward to this season all summer.

ERThursdays at 9c In its 14th season, the staff returns with more medical challenges and personal mat-

ters that are once again in-tertwined between the staff. I think 14 seasons is too many, and I have seen all that I can handle of this show.

My Name is EarlThursdays at 7c Earl has taken too many wrong turns in his life. But a twist of fate comes along his way, and he wins a small lottery prize. After this, he has an epiphany and makes it a goal to set out and turn all of the wrongs he did in his life into rights. This show is humorous and takes you through bizarre events that Earl is trying to make right.

Chuck - NEWMondays at 7c “Chuck” is a comedy series about a man who is a computer geek and is thrown into a new career as the government’s vital secret agent. When he acciden-tally opens an e-mail covered with government secrets, his brain knows an entire server of sensitive data, and the entire world’s fate rests on his shoul-ders. This show sounds inter-esting with the world’s fate in the hands of a computer geek, and I will give it a try.

HeroesMondays at 8c This epic drama about ordi-nary people who discover they have extraordinary abilities is back for a second season as they face new events and struggles. This show steals your attention because of the action and super powers the “ordinary” actors possess.

Friday, September 28, 2007Page 4

ArtsFridAyOptimist

BOX OFFiCe stAts

Newly released movies and gross rates for Sept. 21- Sept. 23.

n Resident Evil: Extinction (R): $24 Million

n Good Luck Chuck (R): $14 Million

n The Brave One (R): $7.4 Million

n 3:10 to Yuma (R): $10.1 Million

n Eastern Promises (R): $5.7 Million

COmiNg sOON

Movies opening Friday:

n The Kingdom (R), starring Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman. The aftermath of a deadly attack on American forces in Saudia Arabia left the government slow to act, but FBI special agent Ronald Fleury (Foxx) assembles a secret team of U.S. counter-terrorism investigators to find the criminal behind the act. The crew finds their attempt to capture them unwelcome, and their presence in the city is not wanted. Desperate to accomplish their mission in only five days, they find they may be the next target.

n The Game Plan (PG), starring The Rock, Kyra Sedgwick, Roselyn Sanchez, Morris Chestnut. A football superstar who abandons the gridiron unexpectedly has to answer to fatherhood after discovering he has a daughter he never knew about.

n Feast of Love (R), starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Alexa Davalos. This is modern version of a “Midsummer Night’s Dream” meets “Desperate Housewives.” A local professor who lives in a tight-knit Oregon neighborhood witnesses love mischief among the town’s residents. All of their stories intertwine into one romantic fable.

Opening Saturday:

n The Darjeeling Limited (R), starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Anjelica Huston. Three American brothers who have not spoken in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a mind-set to find themselves and bond with each other again like bothers. Their quest veers off track and they eventually end up stranded in the middle of the desert with 11 suitcases, a printer and a laminating machine.

They’re back: Office cast offers new mischief

Photo Courtesy of abC.Com

Photo Courtesy of Cbs.Com

Photo Courtesy of nbC.Com

The Office airs Thursday nights on NBC at 8c.

Photo Courtesy of nbC.Com

Photo Courtesy of Cbs.Com

e-mail snelson at: sas04b@acu.edu

Friday, September 28, 2007 Page 5 FROM THE FRONT

E-mail Fields at: jrf03b@acu.edu

priorities. Some don’t have time for pledging,” Westbrook said.

Describing this year as a year of change, Westbrook said they are working on a new pledge system that will take up less time. “We’re hop-ing under the new system we’ll grow,” Westbrook said.

“We want social clubs to grow and thrive, and we’re hoping that the new sys-

tem will accomplish that,” she said.

Though total numbers are down, some clubs still had many pledges. Gamma Sigma Phi had the largest men’s pledge class with 45, fol-lowed by Galaxy’s 30 pledg-es. In its first pledge class in two years, Sub T-16 had 20 pledges and Frater Sodalis had 12. The Trojans did not have a pledge class this year.

The women’s clubs had

three clubs that almost reached the maximum ca-pacity for a pledge class. Alpha Kai Omega, Ko Jo Kai and Sigma Theta Chi have 47 pledges this year out of a possible 48. While Tri Kappa

Gamma and Delta Gamma Phi both had small pledge classes, GATA had 10 and Delta Theta had 30, nearly double the 18 who pledged last year.

Delta Theta president

Christie Thomas, senior graphic design major from Austin, said she has no idea why fewer people pledged this year. “I’ve been wonder-ing the same thing. I guess people are finding other ways to get involved, which is fine and good,” she said.

Thomas said a new pledg-ing rule required students to visit four out of the seven clubs, and that rule helped Delta Theta. “We went all

out and were really fun and showed them they could be themselves,” she said.

Even if pledge classes con-tinue to decrease in num-ber, Thomas said it wouldn’t change things for Delta The-ta. “I’m not too worried about the future of Delta Theta,” she said. “We have a good dy-namic as a smaller club.”

Numbers: Participants drop with other commitmentsContinued from page 1

E-mail Josey at: jdj03e@acu.edu

collegiate musical productions. Jana Atchley, senior ac-

counting major from Grape-vine and co-chair for Sing Song, talked about the im-portant role host and host-esses play.

“The host and hostesses bring a unique element to Sing Song. Through their amazing talent and individu-al personalities, they engage the audience and connect them to the show.”

Atchley is one of four co-chairs for Sing Song includ-ing, Ashlea Allred, senior psy-chology major from Bedford; Matt Greenberg, senior politi-cal science major from Grand Prairie; and Britton New, se-nior business management major from Fort Worth. The theme for Sing Song this year is “World Tour 2008.”

“The concept for this year’s theme is much like a band go-ing on a tour-like rock concert. Ideally, the host and hostesses will carry the audience around the world,” said Tom Craig, di-rector of student productions.

Craig and vocal coach Kristin Ward will judge the auditions, along with a faculty member from ACU’s music department and two music professionals from the Abilene community.

Each person auditioning will be given three and a half minutes to present two songs to the judges. In order to au-dition, students must have at least 60 completed hours, a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or

higher and must be in good standing with the university.

Callback auditions will be Tuesday, Oct. 9. Part of this audition will involve dance and choreography as well as sight reading.

“We are really looking for someone with the ability to convey the message of the songs that they are sing-ing,” said Ward.

Those who were unable to attend the meeting but still want to try out should e-mail singsong@acu.edu.

Hosts: Singers seek stage spotContinued from page 1

E-mail Valle at: vmv04a@acu.edu

King: Students invited to forumContinued from page 1

E-mail Acuff at: optimist@acu.edu

SA: Parliamentary procedure under consideration Continued from page 1

E-mail Peace at: knp04a@acu.edu

Worthington advised Con-gress to reconsider the rules governing appointing and electing representatives to allow students to represent-ing buildings where they are minors.

No motion was made. Last year, a similar bill to amend restrictions to allow stu-dents with a minor to rep-resent an academic building failed in Congress.

Archer’s motion to ap-

point Roberts also carried a motion to appoint Erin Kes-sler, junior political science major from Missouri City, to a junior senator position.

Archer’s motion to table all pending motions was struck down, and Congress instead severed the motion to vote on each appointee separately.

Congress unanimously appointed Kessler, and later appointed Darren Williams, freshman pre-med major from Longview, to the Fos-ter Science Building repre-

sentative position. Williams fills the second

spot of four. Roberts, who is not a ma-

jor or a minor in Zona Luce, will not be appointed to the position.

After last week’s meet-ing, parliamentarian Matt Greenberg told Congress throwing out or amending the use of Robert’s Rules of Order could speed up the meeting process.

“We are considering revi-sions to our current parlia-

mentary procedure,” Green-berg said Wednesday.

On Thursday, Worthing-ton said one option to pre-vent confusion could be to require prospective repre-sentative to fill out form to verify their eligibility. The move would create a paper trail, and, he said, could improve organization and communication.

helping the other six groups. When other groups present new ideas and innovations, the executive study group looks at it and applies the new information to the other groups.

The six groups left will explore on- and off-cam-pus interactions, teaching and media applications and infrastructure questions.

“It will prototype our studies in a lot more ways,” Rankin said. “How people study, how people live on

campus and how people study off campus and how people get their news and how people interact with the technology on campus.”

Research: Technology studiedContinued from page 1

could not answer immediately would be addressed at a later date by her assistants via e-mail or phone communications.

While some ACU faculty were present for the forum, no students attended. How-ever, King intends to contin-

ue the meetings, potentially holding one every other month, and encouraged uni-versity students to attend.

“I understand if you’re in college this is the last thing you’d think about,” King said. “But it is an opportu-nity to come and give your voice from a totally differ-

ent perspective, so I would really welcome students to come. I could certainly go [to ACU] and gather up stu-dents and talk to them, but if they wanted to come here, it would be an interesting in-ter-generational experience.” Katie GaGeR CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Alex Gutierrez, junior management major from San Antonio, leads The Call Bible study on Wednesday in Beauchamp Amphitheater. The group meets weekly.

Calling out to students“Through their amazing talent and individual personalities, they engage the audience and

connect them to the show.”

Jana atchley, Sing Song co-chair

“We want social clubs to grow and thrive, and we’re hoping that the new system will accomplish that.”

Mauri Westbrook, coordinator of student activities and organizations

ViewsFridayOptimistPage 6 September 28, 2007

Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Optimist and may not necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.

Signed columns, cartoons and letters are the opinions of their creators and may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the Optimist or the university.

The Optimist encourages reader response through letters to the editor but reserves the right to limit frequent contributors or to refuse to print letters containing personal

attacks, obscenity, defamation, erroneous information or invasion of privacy.

Please limit letters to 350 words or fewer. A name and phone number must be included for verification purposes. Phone numbers will not be published.

Address letters to:ACU Box 27892

Abilene, TX 79699

E-mail letters to: optimist@acu.edu

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Published by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication

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Online:www.acuoptimist.com

Editorial Board and News Staff

Jared FieldsEditor in Chief

Kelsi PeaceManaging Editor

Lauren SuttonCopy Editor

Rachel DavisOpinion Editor

Katie GagerChief Photographer

Denton JoseyFeatures Editor

Daniel JohnsonSports Editor

Sara SnelsonArts Editor

Camille TurnerVideo Editor

Alex YorkLebensgefahr

Val ValleOnline Editor

Christi StarkAdvertising Manager

Kenneth PybusAdviser

The problem:Facebook added a new setting that allows Google and Yahoo to display profile listings.

Our view:Facebook users need to be more discretionary with the material they put on profiles.

The solution:Be careful with Facebook and other online sites, and privacy won’t be as much of an issue.

Facebook changes set off privacy discussionsInformation you don’t want

shared can be shared with the rest of the world: be careful.

Facebook plans to allow Google and Yahoo to display profile listings within a matter of weeks. Users of Facebook may have their profile pictures and names available to the public, unless they change the privacy settings on their profiles.

Also, Facebook equips the use of RSS feeds, and those feeds, when generated, are available to the public. If some-one subscribes to a feed of sta-tus updates, it’s visible for any-one to see.

The same is true for notes and posted items. Changing privacy settings for these may prohibit Facebook users who aren’t a friend from seeing them, but if anyone sub-scribes to them using RSS feeds, they are readily available to the public. All anyone needs in order to view your feeds is the URL to the RSS feed and access to one of your friend’s computers that’s subscribed to your RSS feed.

Facebook founder Mark Zuck-erberg said in a letter to Facebook users that Facebook’s premise is

to create “an environment where people could share whatever in-formation they wanted but also have control over whom they shared that information with.”

Evidently Zuckerberg forgot what his purpose in creating Facebook was about.

Facebook belongs to the public, which means students should use caution when shar-ing personal information, phone numbers and street addresses

on profiles.“I think

that’s wise to help them u n d e r s t a n d

that they’re not anonymous and … they do need to have some concern about the way they present themselves,” said Dr. Wayne Barnard, university dean of spiritual formation.

Students should not consider Facebook private. The univer-sity wants students to know that graduate schools and potential employers partially base their decisions on appropriateness of Facebook profiles.

“Employers are regularly checking to make sure that the people that they hire do not have skeletons in their closet,” said George Saltsman, director of Educational Tech-nology in the Adams Center for Teaching Excellence.

As long as students use com-mon sense and exercise discre-tion with what goes on Facebook profiles, privacy won’t become an issue to worry about online.

Facebook belongs to the public, which means students need to be cautious when sharing information.

E-mail the Optimist at: optimist@acu.edu

The desire to tell a secret is a part of life most of us never quite outgrow.

As chil-dren, we learned that e n t e r t a i n -ment often c o n s i s t e d of sitting in a circle of peers and taking turns whispering words in the ear of the person next to us as those

words became completely misconstrued.

And as we grew older, we experienced the act of sharing a secret in confidence and in return feeling acceptance, pain or vulnerability.

Regardless of our history, secret sharing has always been a means by which humans have expressed deeply rooted pieces of life and a reality that

PostSecret has more recently utilized to produce a world-wide phenomenon.

The craze began three years ago as a community art project in Washington D.C. and has since morphed into a weekly blog and three pub-lished books.

The PostSecret concept is simple. Anonymous individu-als decorate and write an un-told secret on a single note card and then mail the note card to creator Frank Warren.

Warren then sifts through the cards and chooses which se-crets to publish at www.postse-cret.blogspot.com. Secrets deal with issues of sexuality, crimi-nal activity, hopes, fears, etc.

The beauty of PostSecret is its autonomy.

And as hard as it can be to stomach the brutally honest

posts, the secrets are just as re-demptive as they are painful.

“My biggest fear is that if I have a daughter, she will in-herit my eating disorder,” “My dad is a catholic priest. I have been his secret for 21 years,” and “When you are at church on Sundays… I steal your pain medication. Sorry Grandpa,” are only three of this week’s 22 selected posts on the archive-free Web site.

What is so cathartic about the anonymous form of con-fession? Equally intriguing, who are the readers of these secrets, and what is their inter-est in the phenomenon?

I think the draw for both se-cret readers and secret sharers is the source of healing Post-Secret has provided for those who peruse the site and read the books.

In a non-threatening, non-stigmatic way, PostSecret has enabled people to candidly share their struggles without fear of rejection.

And readers who haven’t posted secrets but keep up with the publications can relate to secret writers whose confes-sions resemble their own life experience, offering a sense of healing and hope.

PostSecret has taken on a darker, more hidden side of humanity, and its artists and readers have not only respond-ed, they have embraced the raw, gritty medium.

So from whichever end of the spectrum PostSecret fans come, the ability to honestly confess and read secrets with no social cost attached contin-ues to appeal to a less-than-perfect society in its highly vul-nerable world.

Post a secret, heal personal wounds

State ofMindLaurenSutton

I lost one more friend this past weekend. To mar-riage. He was only 23.

J o s h Glaze, my friend since f o u r t h grade, used to tell his friends he wasn’t go-ing to get married in his 20s. He said, “Jesus didn’t lay down his life until he

was 33, why should I give mine any sooner?”

Such stout resolve did not last, however. He start-ed dating this girl and even-t u a l l y proposed at Niaga-ra Falls. She said “ y e s , ” and soon I was in-vited to be in the wedding.

I arrived in Florida for the wedding this past week-end. It was a busy few days full of tuxedos and details. I kept thinking how it all seemed like too much fuss for such a short ceremony.

Really, months go into planning this thing, (and for some girls, years) and it only lasts a few hours, give or take a bit.

The big day came Sun-day. As I stood under the hot Florida sun in my black tuxedo with sweat cascad-ing down my back, I made up my mind about a few things.

First, I don’t think get-ting married is good until the third decade of life, but so did Josh.

So if somehow I, too, get ensnared, I will at least stick with this resolution: Don’t wear tuxes.

They are fancy-looking sweat suits. Also, they are expensive and don’t al-

low for dancing after the wedding. I wanted to run and slide across the dance floor, much like the folks on “Footloose,” but in a rental, that would be a bad idea.

Also, weddings take a lot of effort and planning because they are so fan-cy. Does it have to be this way?

I contend it does not. I mentioned my thoughts to another groomsman, and he said he heard that elop-ing or having a destination wedding is the way to go. I think he is right because with a smaller wedding there are fewer people to be embarrassed in front of.

Why would you be em-barrassed? Because some-

times peo-ple cry at weddings. My friend Josh, in a p r i c e l e s s m o m e n t , s t a r t e d crying as

he said his vows. He half laughed as he

stood there, tears rolling down, and said, “Through laughter and tears…”

Still, despite my ideas on weddings, I will say they have their good parts. I’m glad I got to be in Josh’s wedding.

After college, it gets a lot more difficult to keep up with your friends, so this wedding was a great oppor-tunity to spend time with people I rarely see but re-ally love.

As I write this, Josh and his wife, Charlotte, are some-where in the Mediterranean on a honeymoon cruise.

I’m in college despite graduating high school five years ago. Though it isn’t for me, perhaps my friend Josh is onto something.

Wedding evokes marital musings

FeelingOptimisticDentonJosey

E-mail Sutton at: les03c@acu.edu, optimist@acu.edu

E-mail Josey at: jdj03e@acu.edu, optimist@acu.edu

After reading the Opti-mist article “Students stand, press for peace,” I was actu-ally optimistic about such a protest. I was hoping to see a responsible demonstra-tion that put into action the values articulated by Gon-

calves after he was inter-viewed about the upcoming event. However, as I walked to Chapel on Friday morn-ing, I saw no hint of discre-tion on the part of the pro-testors, and I believe that certain precautions should have been considered prior to the event.

During the protest, the ACU campus was exposed to grotesque images of blood as demonstrators splattered

their posters and smeared their hands and faces with red paint.

These images left noth-ing to the imagination as signs blatantly blamed America for having blood on its hands. As if that was not atrocious enough, the protestors went so far as to claim that “Jesus is a dead Iraqi child.” Though I believe Jesus does iden-tify with the afflicted and

oppressed, I firmly believe he also identifies with the soldiers who are fighting so that others may live.

A popular phrase states that, after all, only two de-fining forces have ever of-fered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American sol-dier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

I believe that statement to be true and am thankful and respectful to both.

Something I will never forget is the instance of a girl crying as she exited Chapel because her father is currently serving in Iraq. Goncalves wanted to get people talking, and what he got was a crying daughter whose dad she felt had been publicly shamed.

No matter what your stance on Iraq may be, we as Americans and as Christians should respect one another,

and what was displayed last Friday was neither respect-ful nor responsible.

A protest like last Fri-day’s along with any disre-spectful anti-war protest has no place at a Christian university.

John FergusonSophomore history

major from Abilenejef05c@acu.edu

Anti-war protest demonstrates lack of respect for American troops

Letter to the editor regarding last Friday’s anti-war protest.

LETTEr TO ThE EDiTOr

As hard as it can be to stomach the brutally honest posts, the secrets are just as redemptive as

they are painful.

Despite my ideas on weddings, I will say they have their good parts.

Friday, September 28, 2007 Page 7SPORTS JUMPS

By Nathan MacDonaldSportS Writer

After finishing in the top five in each of its first two tournaments, the ACU Golf team had this week off, but it was no vacation.

“Its difficult to balance school work and an athlete’s sport,” said head golf coach Mike Campbell. “So this week gave us a chance to get mental-ly and physically re-charged.”

The team will have need-ed the rest because on Mon-day and Tuesday the Wild-cats will compete against some of the best teams in the nation at the Grand Can-yon University Fall Classic in Phoenix. Among the com-petition are No. 9 Califor-nia State-Stanislaus, No. 18 Grand Canyon and No. 21 CSU-San Bernardino. NAIA ranked Texas Wesleyan, who

won the Charles Coody West Texas Intercollegiate in early September, will also make an appearance.

“This is the toughest field this fall,” Campbell said. “It’s a great course, and the weather is always good so it gives us a chance to see how we match against the nation’s teams.”

Last year, the Wildcats placed third overall in the classic, the best they’ve ever done in Phoenix.

So far this season, Camp-bell said he has been pleased with his top five players that he takes on the road.

“All five players have real-ly been solid,” Campbell said. “Erik [Manning] and Patrick [Hanauer] especially did re-ally well last tournament.”

Last week at the Territory

Classic, Manning and Hanau-er both placed in the top 10 individually, both within a stroke of one another.

“All five players have the potential to be the top of our team any week; our depth is that great,” Campbell said.

ACU dropped from No. 11 to No. 13 in the latest Golf World/NIKE Golf Coaches Poll rankings. ACU fell be-hind now No. 11 Central Oklahoma as the top team in the Lone Star Conference. There are four nationally ranked LSC teams, the other two being No. 16 Cameron and No. 25 Northeastern State. Heartland Conference and South Central Regional rival St. Edward’s climbed up the polls, going from No. 16 to No. 12.

Ranked competition awaits ACU in Phoenix

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior Curtis Harris sets up a putt on the green of the 17th hole at the Charles Coody West Texas Intercollegiate Tournament on Sept. 10.

“I think the tournament will be good for us,” said junior Alexsandra Vucic.

Last weekend, Squillaci and senior Aina Rafolomanatsiatosi-ka won doubles at the Wilson/ITA Central Region tournament, earning them a spot at the ITA Small College National Champi-onships. Juniors Ryan Hudson and Juan Nunez won the men’s doubles title and also go on to nationals in Mobile, Ala.

The men’s team has this weekend off.

Baylor: ACU tunes up before nationalsContinued from page 8

This season, ACU’s de-fense has allowed an aver-aged of 96 yards per game, three rushing touchdowns, and the Wildcats’ rushing defense is ranked No. 24 in Division II football.

The Greyhounds’ rush-ing attack isn’t their only strength.

Eastern New Mexico has the second best scoring de-fense in the LSC, are second in the conference in rushing defense and fourth in total defense. Its only defensive weakness is its passing de-fense, a weakness ACU may be able to exploit.

The Wildcats’ passing of-fense, ranked No. 24 in the nation, averages 253.0 yards per game and has scored 10 passing touchdowns so far this season. Junior quarter-back Billy Malone is coming off a 302-yard, four-touch-down game against South-western Oklahoma State University, one of the best defenses in the LSC North.

Malone’s two favorite targets, junior wide receiv-er Johnny Knox and senior wide receiver Jerale Badon, are both in the top 10 of the LSC for receiving yards per game and receptions per

game. Knox averages 96.0 receiving yards per game and caught four touch-downs this season. Badon, the ACU all-time leader in catches and receiving yards, has three touchdown catch-es and averages 69.2 receiv-ing yards per game.

“There are certain times when a team starts finding its groove, and that’s what we’re kind of doing offen-sively,” said offensive coor-dinator Ken Collums.

What is probably the most important aspect of the Wildcats upcom-ing game is a chance to start 1-0 in the loaded LSC South Division.

The LSC South includes four undefeated and four nationally ranked teams, and an ACU win Saturday could be a step towards ACU’s second NCAA Divi-sion II playoff berth.

“It’s crucial,” Thomsen said. “Every game is big, but to win your first one in the South is crucial.”

ACU and Eastern New Mexico will kick off at 7 p.m. at Shotwell Stadium.

Rusher: Wildcats open LSC South play Continued from page 8

The second phase in-cluded running hills and building muscle endurance, and now in the third phase, the ACU cross country team works on speed and prepar-ing for race conditions.

“I will say that they are a bunch of sore people walk-ing around this week because they are asking their bodies and muscles to do things that they have been normally

doing in the past phases,” Hood said.

Expectations for Nicode-mus Naimadu, a three-time individual Division II cross country champion, in Okla-homa are high. Naimadu won at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree last season and has won 12 of the last meets he has run in.

“I expect him to win,” Hood said. “I think everyone, not just me, is expecting Nicodemus to win every meet he enters, which asks a lot of the guy. It

puts a target on his back, but winning is what is expected of a top runner. It would cause more of a stir if he lost a race than if he continued to defend his title at Oklahoma.”

Eyes will not only be watch-ing Naimadu in the men’s race, but will be watching Winrose Karunda and Mary Mwangi in the women’s race.

“Winrose will be listed as an unattached runner, and that is disappointing. But we will get that taken care of when the

meets really start to count at the end of October and early November,” Hood said. “Mary has had three weeks of really good training, and the rest of the team that has survived the hill session, and we have come out of it relatively healthy.”

With the ACU cross coun-try team still preparing for the Oklahoma State Jambo-ree race, Hood stands be-hind his team and will pre-pare his team right up to the starting shot.

“Staying together is the only way we are going to be successful at this meet,” Hood said. “We are going to let Ni-codemus loose to defend his title, but runners two through five really need to stay togeth-er and support each other, and have a pack mentality.”

The Oklahoma State Jambo-ree is the first step to the Oct. 13 Chile Pepper Festival, the Oct. 20 LSC Championships, the Nov. 3 NCAA II Regionals and eventually the Nov. 17

NCAA II Nationals. The ACU’s men’s team is

ranked No. 1 in the South Cen-tral Region, while the women are ranked No. 2.

“We are just focusing on the Oklahoma State meet right now,” Hood said. “They have a chance to place higher than ACU has done since I have been here.”

Jamboree: Naimadu chases 12th straight individual title Continued from page 8

E-mail MacDonald at: optimist@acu.edu

Golf

By Michael FreemanASSiStAnt SportS editor

Taking on the top team in the Lone Star Conference on the road is no easy task. But the Wildcat volleyball team believes that it’s ready for the challenge.

ACU plays the West Tex-as A&M Buffaloes, who are ranked No. 18 in the nation, in Canyon this Saturday. West Texas A&M owns a 14-5 overall record with an un-defeated conference record of 3-0, while the Wildcats are 6-7 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

“I think there’s a lot to be said about rankings,” said head coach Kellen Mock. “But I also think that there’s times when they just don’t really matter. What matters is who plays on the day you step out on the court against each other.”

ACU played Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M played Angelo State on Thursday, but results were not available by press time.

Last year, the Wildcats lost twice to the Buffaloes during the regular season and once in the postseason. West Tex-as A&M defeated ACU 30-15, 30-17, 30-25 in the NCAA Di-

vision II Southwest Regional last season. This year, the Wildcats will only play West Texas A&M once in the regu-lar season. The ACU players are looking for payback for last season’s losses.

“Last year, they beat us in every game,” said junior middle blocker Lauren Leone. “So, we’re getting revenge in a way this year.”

ACU’s last match ended up in a 30-26, 30-15, 30-32, 30-28 loss to conference op-ponent Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday in Moody Colise-um. The Wildcats have been preparing all week to bounce back from the loss and de-feat West Texas A&M.

“West Texas has always been our big rival,” said se-nior outside hitter Abbie Lowry. “We always get fired up to play them.”

The match is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at the West Texas A&M Fieldhouse. The Buffaloes are not the first nationally ranked team that ACU has played this year. The Wildcats lost to both Hillsdale, ranked No. 10 at the time, and Florida Southern, ranked No. 5, back in August. If ACU beats West

Texas A&M, it would be the first victory over a nationally ranked team for the Wildcats this season.

“And it’s at their place,” Leone said. “It would be the greatest thing ever to beat them there.”

Both ACU and West Texas A&M are relatively young teams this season. Only two starters from the Buffaloes last year, Natalie Johnson and Sara Contreras, are still

starting this last year. “They’re going through

some of the same learning curves that we do, some of the same growing pains,” Mock said. “Our young team versus their young team is going to be a real battle. And whichever team is more prepared, which-ever team is more focused and mentally ready is going to come out the victor.”

ACU faces No. 18 West Texas A&M

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior libero Liz Snoddy digs a ball while sophomore defensive specialist Amy Wilson watches during ACU’s match against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday.

Volleyball

E-mail Mathis at: optimist@acu.edu

E-mail Davis at: red04a@acu.edu

E-mail Johnson at: djj04a@acu.eduE-mail Freeman at: mxf04b@acu.edu

Optimist

spOrtsFridaySeptember 28, 2007Page 8

Friday

WOMEN’S SOCCERACU at West Texas A&M, 3 p.m.

WOMEN’S TENNISACU at Baylor Invitational, TBA

Saturday

CROSS COUNTRYACU at Oklahoma State Jambo-ree, 9 a.m.

FOOTBALLACU vs. Eastern New Mexico, 7 p.m.

VOLLEYBALLACU at West Texas A&M, 2 p.m.

Sunday

WOMEN’S SOCCERACU at Eastern New Mexico, 2 p.m.

n Home games listed in italics

Standings

Upcoming

Saturday

FOOTBALLACU 50, Southwestern Oklahoma State 14

VOLLEYBALLTexas A&M-Kingsville 3, ACU 1

FootballTeam Div. OverallENMUMSUTarleton St.WTAMUACU

Angelo St.

0-00-00-00-00-00-0

4-04-04-04-03-11-2

TAMU-K 0-0 1-3

Women’s SoccerTeam Div. OverallUCOMSUENMUACUNE St.

East Central

2-02-11-01-01-01-1

7-2-15-1-27-26-43-4-14-4-2

TAMU-C 0-0 4-5WTAMU 0-1 6-2TX Woman’s 0-1 3-6-1Angelo St. 0-1 2-6-1SW Okla. 0-2 0-11

Scores

For complete intramural scores and schedules

visit:w w w. a c u o p t i m i s t . c o m

INTRAMURAL ROUNd-Up

n The intramural schedule in the Optimist is subject to change and is not permanent. Any changes can be viewed on the intramural bulletin board in Moody Coliseum.

Scoreboard as of Wednesday

SCOREBOARd

VolleyballTeam Div. OverallWTAMUAngelo St.Central Okla.MSUTX Woman’s

ACU

3-03-02-03-12-12-1

14-55-914-415-39-66-7

TAMU-K 2-2 7-5Cameron 2-2 7-9TAMU-C 1-2 5-9SW Okla. 0-0 8-10Tarleton 0-0 7-10

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Freshman midfielder/forward Courtney Wilson protects the ball from an HSU player Tuesday.

brian schmidt SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Wildcat linebackers freshman Arthur Johnson and senior Cody Stutts converge on Southeastern Oklahoma State quarterback Kolby Williams for a sack on Sept. 15.

By Christina JohnsonSportS Writer

The ACU women’s soccer team will take on two Lone Star Conference teams this weekend to increase its clean conference record of 1-0 it achieved by downing Angelo State in ACU’s LSC opener.

The Wildcats will face a 6-2 West Texas A&M team in Canyon at “The Pitch” soccer field. The Lady Buffs fell to 0-1 in conference after they lost against Eastern New Mexico on Friday.

ACU will move on to play Eastern New Mexico in Por-tales, N.M., on Sunday. The

Zias advanced to 7-2 overall and are 1-0 in conference.

“Both West Texas and Eastern New Mexico will be tough. They’re both well coached teams,” said head coach Casey Wilson. “We’ll stack up well with them, player per player. They’ll both be tough defensively.”

The Wildcats practiced hard and worked on some adjustments Wednesday in preparation for its upcom-ing games.

“It’s a big game for us,” said assistant coach Thomas Pertuit. “I’m hoping our girls

will play hard and strong.”Wilson realizes his team

needs to decrease its errors this weekend and focus on perfection.

“We have to play very well, and we can’t make any mis-takes if we’re going to do well this weekend,” Wilson said.

The game against Hardin-Simmons University on Tues-day was postponed because of weather. HSU was up 1-0 with 67 minutes left in the game, and the non-confer-ence match-up was resched-uled for Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. at the HSU Soccer Complex.

“Our defense came out a little flat,” Wilson said. “The

overall energy level was a little down. We weren’t all on the same page.”

Waiting patiently in the locker room, Wilson said the team reconnected as it went over its previous performance.

“They had a time to re-group and talk about the first 20 minutes of the game,” Per-tuit said.

Yet, Pertuit is confident in his team’s upcoming perfor-mances this weekend.

“As long as we keep on at-tacking, we should come out with a victory,” Pertuit said.

1-0 ACU continues conference march

Baylor Invitational offers challenge

By Daniel JohnsonSportS editor

If the ACU football team wants to win its Lone Star Conference South Division opener on Saturday, the na-tionally ranked Wildcats need to do one thing: stop Michael Benton.

The Eastern New Mexico Universi-ty quarterback is the head of the No. 1 running game in the nation that averages 403 yards per game and holds an unblemished 4-0 record. Benton alone averages 187.8 rush-ing yards per game and has rushed for a total of 751 yards and eight

touchdowns in the Greyhounds’ first four games.

“If we shut him down, we shut down 40 percent of their offense,” said senior linebacker Cody Stutts.

Benton and the Greyhounds are coming off a 21-7 win over the Univer-sity of Central Oklahoma, the only team to beat the Wildcats this season.

Benton racked up 243 yards, rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another in the win. The No. 1 rusher in the nation posted the second best rushing yards total in Eastern New Mexico history and was named LSC South Offensive Player of the Week because of it.

“Obviously we want to stop Michael Benton, he’s one of the best players in the league,” said head coach Chris Thomsen. “I mean, he single handedly destroyed UCO; we’ve got to stop Mi-chael, and we know that.”

But Benton’s explosiveness is nothing new to ACU’s defense.

The Wildcats shut down and shut out Benton and the Greyhounds in 2006, sacking him four times and holding him to minus-4 yards on the ground on 15 carries in a 21-0 victory.

The win was the last time ACU shut out a team and rocketed the Wildcats to 4-0. So Benton could be looking for revenge.

“Last year we shut them out, but this year they’re a lot more experi-enced,” Stutts said. “We’re just pre-paring the best we can to cut his stats in half.”

Tackling Week Four

By Anastasia MathisSportS Writer

The ACU cross country team will compete at the Oklahoma State Jamboree against a slew of Division I teams, and after preparing with a fast-pace training rou-tine, ACU head coach Derek Hood has high expectations.

“We are starting our third phase of training and have changed it up a bit,” Hood said. “We are trying to run at a pace that we want to mimic when we race.”

Cats face D-1 talent at Cowboy Jamboree

By Rachel Davisopinion editor

The ACU women’s ten-nis team travels to Waco this weekend for the H-E-B Baylor Invitational to face tougher competition than it has seen all season.

Baylor was ranked No. 17 in the NCAA Division I poll last spring and is one on a long list of Division I teams like Ohio State University, the University of Kentucky and Oklahoma State Univer-sity that the Wildcats may face, but head coach Hutton Jones thinks ACU can only benefit from the tougher competition.

“You get better by play-ing better people,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t be going if I didn’t think we’d win our fair share.”

Jones said ACU may be the underdogs in the tournament,

but the team will get in some good matches and come out stronger in the end.

Junior Irene Squillaci said she’s excited about going to the tournament.

“I feel really good about it,” Squillaci said. “It’s going to bring our best games out, and that’s what we want, to be able to compete at this level.”

Squillaci said the team looks forward to this tourna-ment each year. The team is scheduled to play every other school at the tournament, and Squillaci said they’re all look-ing forward to playing Baylor.

“Baylor is one of the best ranked teams in D-1,” Squilla-ci said. “We get great matches from this tournament and that helps us improve our tennis.”

Senior Meagan Brown said she’s hoping for some good competition at the

tournament.“We’re used to playing a lot

of D-1 schools,” Brown said. “Since we’re a D-2 school, we don’t really have anything to lose. We just like to go out and have fun with it. It should defi-nitely be a good tournament.”

ACU was the only Division II team at the Baylor Invita-tional last year, but this year fellow Lone Star Conference member Tarleton State joined the lineup.

Soccer

Women’s Tennis

Football

E-mail Johnson at: optimist@acu.edu

No. 17 Wildcats face nation’s leading rusher

See BAYLOR page 7

See RUSHER page 7

See JAMBOREE page 7

Benton

Katie GaGer CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior Irene Squillaci returns a ball at the ITA Central Regional tourna-ment on Saturday against Nadia Pope of Incarnate Word.

BriefsACU honors track and field team

with awards banquet

n ACU will honor the 2007 track and field team at an awards banquet Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Hillcrest Church of Christ. Bob Richards, the only man in Olym-pic history to win two gold med-als and three Olympic medals in pole vaulting, will be the keynote speaker. Tickets are $10.